Özet:

This essay makes a comparative analysis of Turkish and South Korean perspectives of international society and the way in which they are translated into the two states’ foreign policy behaviour. That both states, in spite of their undeniable differences in culture, history and geography, are middle-rank powers with extensive and intricate links to the United States, is the point of departure for this inquiry. The international perspectives and foreign policy postures of Turkey and South Korea are presented in connection with internal political developments in the countries in question during and after the Cold War. It is argued that the ruling elites in both states allied themselves uncritically with the US specifically and the Western world in general during the course of the Cold War out of considerations of ‘high’ security interests premised on the perceived threat from (some) members of the socialist bloc. Serious misgivings and sense of mistrust felt by a significant section of the public opinion in Turkey and South Korea escalated into outright hostility towards the aggressive and expansionist posturing and behaviour of the US since the end of the Cold War, inter alia, in the Middle East and northeast Asia respectively. In spite of that, however, the essay concludes by a note on the prevailing climate of pragmatism, with imprints on the ruling elites and the common people alike, which prompts both countries to maintain their ‘special’ ties with the US

Anahtar Kelimeler: